Day 5

Alex came by to get us for a barbecue breakfast after everyone had a lovely night’s sleep in the same hotel we stayed in the first night. After we finished eating, we spent the rest of the morning in the center of the city, wandering around the Saturday market. Because it was Easter weekend, there were far fewer people than normal, but it was still fun for us to wander around and see all the products and produce and talk with people.

Then we headed out to the second village we were going to visit briefly. This time we visited with a family of believers. They are a very poor family. The husband of the woman we spoke with there is having trouble finding work, and the brother is a pastor. We spent a lot of time with the kids in the family and watching the women weave Ouipas (like ponchos but longer and highly detailed – made completely by hand and very expensive).

Even though this family was just as poor as any other we had visited (14 people lived in their house), the contrast between this family and our first village was HUGE. There was such joy in these people. They were so open and caring. Our team had a wonderful time with them and for some, it was the highlight of our whole trip.

After having a fantastic dinner prepared by Alex’s wife and the students there, we headed out on another 3 hour bus ride to return to Oaxaca. We spent what was left of the evening in the main square getting dinner and enjoying the atmosphere. Then we returned to our lovely hotel for a well earned rest.